Live greetings

ABSTRACT

Systems, methods, and apparatuses disclose an electronic greeting card application for creating, editing, distributing, and viewing electronic greeting cards on a portable computing device, wherein the electronic greeting card displays animations and permits users to customize the card by way of adding a message, signature, photo, and sound recording.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. Non-Provisional patentapplication Ser. No. 15/316,655, entitled “LIVE GREETINGS” and filedDec. 6, 2016, which claims priority to and the benefit of PCT PatentApplication Serial No. PCT/US2015/051399, entitled “LIVE GREETINGS” andfiled Sep. 22, 2015, and U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No.62/053,441, entitled “LIVE GREETINGS” and filed Sep. 22, 2014, theentire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The general inventive concepts relate to electronic greeting cards and,more particularly, to systems, methods, and apparatuses for creating,editing, distributing, and viewing electronic greeting cards on aportable computing device.

BACKGROUND

Greeting cards have been a staple in human communications for centuries.However, the concept of sending greetings via electronic medium is arelatively new phenomenon. Despite the advances in technology,“electronic” greeting cards have been largely limited to desktopcomputing platforms.

Lately, electronic greeting cards have been implemented as part ofmobile applications in portable computing devices. One example of suchimplementation is disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No.13/460,045, entitled “SYSTEMS, METHODS AND APPARATUSES FOR CREATING,EDITING, DISTRIBUTING, AND VIEWING ELECTRONIC GREETING CARDS,” which ishereby incorporated by reference in full.

However, there is a need to provide for systems, methods, andapparatuses which allow a user to create, edit, view, and distributeelectronic greeting cards on portable computing devices withoutsacrificing some of the unique features of paper greeting cards, whileat the same time utilizing the technical features that are onlyavailable in an electronic medium.

BRIEF SUMMARY

The general inventive concepts contemplate systems, methods, andapparatuses for creating, editing, distributing, and viewing electronicgreeting cards on a portable computing device, wherein the electronicgreeting card displays animations and permits users to customize thecard by way of adding a message, signature, photo, and sound recording.By way of example, to illustrate various aspects of the generalinventive concepts, several exemplary embodiments of systems, methods,and/or apparatuses are disclosed herein.

Additional features and advantages will be set forth in part in thedescription that follows, and in part will be obvious from thedescription, or may be learned by practice of the embodiments disclosedherein. It is to be understood that both the foregoing brief summary andthe following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory onlyand are not restrictive of the embodiments disclosed herein.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute apart of this specification, illustrate some embodiments disclosedherein, and together with the description, serve to explain principlesof the embodiments disclosed herein.

FIG. 1 represents a high level overview of the inventive system.

FIG. 2 is an exemplary flowchart of the inventive system.

FIGS. 3-23 describe the operations of the inventive system for creating,editing, distributing, and viewing electronic greeting cards on anexemplary client device using exemplary screens.

FIGS. 24-26 show exemplary screens for user sign-in and new usercreation in the inventive system.

FIG. 27 is an exemplary flowchart of the inventive system.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The embodiments disclosed herein will now be described by reference tosome more detailed embodiments, with occasional reference to theaccompanying drawings. These embodiments may, however, be embodied indifferent forms and should not be construed as limited to theembodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided sothat this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fullyconvey the scope of the embodiments to those skilled in the art.

Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used hereinhave the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill inthe art to which these embodiments belong. The terminology used in thedescription herein is for describing particular embodiments only and isnot intended to be limiting of the embodiments. As used in thespecification and the appended claims, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and“the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless thecontext clearly indicates otherwise.

The following are definitions of exemplary terms used throughout thedisclosure. Both singular and plural forms of all terms fall within eachmeaning:

“Computer” or “computing device” or “processing unit” as used hereinincludes, but is not limited to, any programmed or programmableelectronic device, microprocessor, or logic circuit that can store,retrieve, and process data.

“Portable computing devices” include, but are not limited to, computingdevices that combine the powers of a conventional computer in portableenvironments. Exemplary portable computing devices include portablecomputers, tablet computers, internet tablets, Personal DigitalAssistants (PDAs), ultra mobile PCs (UMPCs), carputers (typicallyinstalled in automobiles), wearable computers, and smartphones. The term“portable computing device” can be used synonymously with the terms“computer” or “computing device” or “processing unit.”

“Web browser” as used herein, includes, but is not limited to, softwarefor retrieving and presenting information resources on the World WideWeb. An information resource may be a web page, an image, a video, asound, or any other type of electronic content.

“Software” or “computer program” as used herein includes, but is notlimited to, one or more computer or machine readable and/or executableinstructions that cause a computer, a portable computing device,microprocessor, logic circuit, or other electronic device to performfunctions, actions, and/or behave in a desired manner. The instructionsmay be embodied in various forms such as routines, algorithms, modulesor programs, including separate applications or code from dynamicallylinked libraries. Software may also be implemented in various forms suchas a stand-alone program, an app, a mobile application, a function call,a servlet, an applet, instructions stored in a memory or any othercomputer readable medium, part of an operating system or other type ofexecutable instructions. It will be appreciated by one of ordinary skillin the art that the form of software is dependent on, for example,requirements of a desired application, the environment it runs on,and/or the desires of a designer/programmer or the like.

“Mobile application” as used herein, includes, but is not limited to,applications that run on smart phones, tablet computers, and othermobile or portable computing devices. The terms “mobile application” or“mobile app” or “software application” or “application” or “app” can beused synonymously with “software” or “computer program” or “applicationsoftware.” Mobile applications allow users to connect to services thatare traditionally available on the desktop or notebook platforms.Typically, these services access the Internet or intranet or cellular orwireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) networks, to access, retrieve, transmit andshare data.

“Network” as used herein, includes, but is not limited to, a collectionof hardware components and computers or machines interconnected bycommunication channels that allow sharing of resources and information,including without limitation, the worldwide web or Internet. A networkmaybe “wireless,” “wired,” or a combination of wired and wirelessnetworks.

“Server” as used herein, includes, but is not limited to, a computer ora machine or a device on a network that manages network resources. Thegeneral term “server” may include specific types of servers, such as aWeb Server, File Server (a computer and storage device dedicated tostoring files), Print Server (a computer that manages one or moreprinters), a Network Server (a computer that manages network traffic),and a Database Server (a computer system that processes databasequeries). Although servers are frequently dedicated to performing onlyserver tasks, certain multiprocessing operating systems allow a serverto manage other non-server related resources.

“Web server” as used herein, includes, but is not limited to, a serverwhich serves content to a web browser by loading a file from a disk, orautomatically generating a response by combing a search result from adatabase or other repository with calculations based on client requestparameters and business rules and logic embedded in the software, andserving it across a network to a user's web browser, typically using ahyper text transfer protocol (HTTP).

Reference will now be made to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a high leveloverview of the inventive system 100. System 100 comprises a mobileapplication 130 (“ecard app”), which is housed on a portable computingdevice 120. The portable computing device 120 and the ecard app 130 arein communication with a network 110. Access to network 110 allows theportable computing device 120 to obtain and refresh content that issubsequently utilized by the ecard app 130. A user 150 utilizes theecard app 130 to create and send one or more electronic greeting cards(“ecard”) 160.

The electronic greeting card(s) may be any commercially ornon-commercially available electronic greeting card. One embodiment of acustomizable electronic greeting card 160 is disclosed in U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 13/460,045, entitled “SYSTEMS, METHODS ANDAPPARATUSES FOR CREATING, EDITING, DISTRIBUTING, AND VIEWING ELECTRONICGREETING CARDS,” (“the '045 application”) which is hereby incorporatedby reference in full.

The ecard 160 is customizable. For instance, user 150 may add/edit apersonalized message, a signature, a photo, and a sound recording to theecard 160.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart of exemplary system 100 of the present invention.The system flow represents the flow of the software and begins at step201. At 202, the ecard app 130 will be implemented as a mobileapplication on the portable computing device 120 and presented to user150. The ecard app 130 may be programmed using object orientedtechnology such as Objective-C® and Java®.

If user 150 proceeds to build an ecard 160, user 150 is directed to fourpersonalization options 203, 204, 205, and 206, which allow user 150 topersonalize the ecard 160 by adding a photo, adding a message, adding asignature, and adding a sound recording respectively. User 150 can thenpreview the customized card at step 207, and choose to send the card atstep 208.

If the user 150 chooses to send the ecard 160 at step 208, user 150 isdirected to step 209, where the system 100 checks to see if user 150 issigned in to the services offered as part of the system 100. If user 150is signed in (210), user 150 is directed to the send options page atstep 216. If user 150 is not singed in (211), user 150 is presented withtwo options, an existing user sign in page at step 212, or a new usersign up page at step 214. If user 150 is an existing user and indicatesas such in the app 130 (step 212), user 150 is directed to step 213,where user 150 signs in to the system 100 with their user credentials(e.g. a username and a password). After the sign-in process is complete,user 150 is directed to the send options page at step 216. If user 150is a new user and indicates as such in the app 130 (step 213), user 150is directed to step 215, where user 150 creates new user credentials(e.g. a username and a password). After creating new user credentials,user 150 is directed to the send options page at step 216.

The send options step 216 further presents user 150 with four sendoptions 217, 218, 219, and 220, which allow user 150 to send the ecard160 via Email, Facebook®, Text Message (or Short Messaging ServiceMessage or iMessage®), and Twitter® respectively. If user 150 choosesthe Facebook send option at step 218, user 150 is able to either sendthe ecard 160 to a “friend” on Facebook (at step 222), or simply sharethe electronic greeting card 160 on their own Facebook “wall” (at step221). The four send options presented at steps 217, 218, 219, and 220are not mutually exclusive. User 150 may choose to send the ecard 160using one or more of the four send options (217, 218, 219, and 220)sequentially or in any order.

After sending the ecard 160 using one or more of the four options 217,218, 219, and 220, user 150 is directed to a card send-confirmation pageat step 223, thereby completing the send cycle.

Referring now to FIGS. 3-18, an exemplary embodiment of the operationsof the inventive system 100 for creating, editing, and distributingelectronic greeting cards 160 on a client device 120 is shown.

FIG. 3 shows an exemplary start screen 301 of the ecard app 130. FIG. 4shows an exemplary home page 401 of the ecard app 130. At 401, user 150begins the process of choosing an ecard 160 by first selecting acategory selector 402. Once user 150 chooses the category selector 402,user 150 is directed to category screen 501 shown in FIG. 5. In thecategory screen 501, user 150 is presented with one or more categories502. Categories 502 represent the groupings by which all ecards 160available in the system 100 are made accessible to the app 130. One user150 chooses a category 502, user 150 is directed to card selector screen601 as shown in FIG. 6. Card selector screen 601 may further compriseadditional categories or sub-categories 602. Categories 602 representsub-groupings (under each category 502) by which all ecards 160available in the system 100 are made accessible to the app 130. User 150is prompted to select one ecard 160 from the card selector screen 601.

An advantage of the present invention is that the ecard 160 may includean animated electronic greeting card. An animated electronic greetingcard renders animations (such as shaking cards, shaking or movingobjects, talking objects, talking cards etc.) both while building andwhile viewing the electronic greeting card. Animations of the cards aremade possible by utilizing technologies such as Objective-C®, Java®,JavaScript®, Scalable Vector Graphics, Extensible Markup Language®,Cascading Style Sheets and the like.

Upon selection of the ecard 160, user 150 is directed to the card homepage screen 701 as shown in FIG. 7. Here, user 150 is prompted topersonalize and send the ecard 160 via selector 702. Screen 801 of FIG.8 shows the additional information that is made available to user 150regarding ecard 160. Screen 901 of FIG. 9 shows the selected ecard 160to user 150 prior to the personalization steps. One embodiment of theecard personalization options are shown in screen 1001 of FIG. 10.Screen 1001 comprises three personalization options, for adding a photo(1002), for adding a message (1003), and for adding a signature (1004).Another embodiment of the ecard personalization options are shown inscreen 1101 of FIG. 11. Screen 1101 comprises the previously disclosedpersonalization options for adding a photo (1002), for adding a message(1003) and for adding a signature (1004). Additionally, screen 1101further comprises an option for the user to record a message at 1102.

If user 150 selects 1002 to add a photo, user 150 is directed to screen1201 of FIG. 12, where user 150 may choose to upload a photo either bychoosing an existing photo from the portable computing device's 120native photo album (at 1202), or by choosing to take a new photo usingthe portable computing device's 120 native camera (at 1203). Once user150 uploads a photo, either by selecting an existing photo or by takinga new photo, user 150 is shown a preview of the uploaded photo in screen1204. Screen 1204 is identical to screen 1101, with the exception thatan uploaded photo is now shown in place of personalization option 1002.User 150 may choose to remove, edit, or replace the photo shown inscreen 1204, by selecting the photo shown in screen 1204. Once selected,user 150 is presented with the option to remove the photo (at 1206),edit it (at 1207), or replace it (at 1208) as shown in screen 1205. Ifuser 150 chooses to remove the photo uploaded at screen 1204 byselecting 1206, user 150 may be re-directed to screen 1201 to uploadanother photo. Alternately, user 150 may be re-directed to screen 1101to further customize ecard 160. Similarly, if user 150 chooses toreplace the photo uploaded at screen 1204 by selecting 1208, user 150may be re-directed to screen 1201 to upload another photo. Alternately,user 150 may be re-directed to screen 1101 to further customize ecard160. If user 150 chooses to edit the photo uploaded at screen 1204 byselecting 1207, user 150 may be re-directed to screen 1204 or to anotherscreen (not shown) to edit the existing photo. Although not shown in theFigures, user 150 may also choose to upload photos from social networksites such as Google+®, Facebook®, Twitter®, Instagram® and the like.

Referring back to FIG. 11, if user 150 selects 1003 to add a message,user 150 is directed to screen 1301 of FIG. 13, where user 150 maychoose to enter a personalized message. Once a personalized message isentered, user 150 is directed to screen 1302 where a preview of thepersonalized message is shown. Screen 1302 is identical to screen 1101,with the exception that the personalized message is now shown in placeof personalization option 1003.

Referring back to FIG. 11, if user 150 selects 1004 to add a signature,user 150 is directed to screen 1401 of FIG. 14, where user 150 maychoose to enter a personalized signature in a signature area 1402. Thesize of the signature may be adjusted using the adjustment radio buttons1403. Adjustment buttons 1403 may any selector including buttons, asliding bar, size selection menus, etc. The signature may also bedeleted/cleared using the clear selector 1404. Once a personalizedsignature is entered, user 150 is directed to screen 1101 (or to anintermediary screen, not shown), to show user 150 a preview of thepersonalized signature, in place of showing the personalization optionselector 1004.

Referring back to FIG. 11, if user 150 selects 1102 to record a message,user 150 is directed to screen 1501 of FIG. 15, where user 150 maychoose to record a personalized message by activating the recordingselector 1502. User 150 may choose to record any message using theselector 1502. In an embodiment, user 150 may record his/her own voice.In another embodiment, user 150 may record an external sound, such asmusic playing on an external device or on device 120. In anotherembodiment, user 150 may mix his/her own voice with an external sound.The progress of a user's message recording is shown in screen 1503.After the message is recorded, user 150 is given the option to play backthe most recently recorded message (at 1505) or to re-record a message(at 1506), as shown on screen 1504. Screen 1507 shows the playback ofthe recorded message (at 1508).

Referring back to FIG. 11, user 150 has the option to preview the ecard160 by selecting the preview selector 1103, or to send the ecard 160 toa recipient (as described below with reference to FIGS. 19-23) byselecting the send selector 1104. The preview selector 1103 and the sendselector 1104 may be activated by user 150 either before or after thepersonalization steps 1002, 1003, 1004, and 1102. Further, user 150 mayactivate preview selector 1103 and the send selector 1104 even afterhaving completed less than the four personalization steps available.

The following description provides an exemplary workflow of the stepsinvolved in sending the ecard 160.

If user 150 chooses to send the card by activating the send selector1104, user 150 is directed to an authentication screen 2401 as shown inFIG. 24, where user 150 is given the choice to either sign in to thesystem 100 (at 2402), or to create a new account in the system 100 (at2403).

If user 150 chooses to create a new account on screen 2401, user 150 isdirected to a new account creation screen 2501 as shown in FIG. 25. User150 may enter one or more sign-up details 2502 (e.g. first name, lastname, email address, password, date of birth) to create a new accountwith the system 100. User 150 may then activate the create account link2503 to create a new account.

If user 150 chooses to sign in on screen 2401, user 150 is directed to asign in screen 2601 as shown in FIG. 26. User 150 may enter theirusername 2602, password 2603 and sign in using link 2604. User 150 hasan option to request a new password by activating the forgot passwordlink 2605.

Once user 150 either creates a new account or signs in, user 150 isdirected to screen 1601 of FIG. 16. On screen 1601, user 150 ispresented with four send options: send card 160 via email (1602), sendcard 160 via Facebook® (1603), send card 160 via a text message or ashort message service message or an iMessage® (1604), and send card 160via Twitter® (1605). Although not shown FIG. 16, user 150 and therecipient may have the option to share and “like” the card 160 onvarious social networking sites such as Google+®, Facebook®, orTwitter®.

If user 150 chooses to send the card 160 via email 1602, user 150 isdirected to an email page (not shown). The email page has an option foruser 150 to enter one or more email addresses and send the card 160 byactivating a send link.

If user 150 chooses to send the card 160 via Facebook® 1603, user 150 isdirected to a Facebook® page (not shown). If user 150 is not alreadysigned in to the Facebook® service on the portable computing device 120,user 150 is directed to a login screen where user 150 is able to entertheir user credentials (e.g. a username and a password) and login to theFacebook® service. Next, user 150 is able to choose between posting thecard 160 on their own wall or on a friend's wall. If user 150 chooses topost the card 160 on their own wall, user 150 is directed to theirFacebook® wall page, where user 150 is able to post the card 160 alongwith a personalized message. If user 150 chooses to post the card 160 ona friend's wall, user 150 is directed to a friend selector page onFacebook®, where user 150 is able to choose from one or more friends byeither selecting them from the Facebook® friend list or by searching forthem within the Facebook® interface. Once user 150 chooses a friend onwhose wall to post the card 160, user 150 is directed to the selectedfriend's Facebook® wall page, where user 150 is able to post the card160 along with a personalized message.

If user 150 chooses to send the card 160 using the text message link1604, user 150 is directed to a text message page (not shown). User 150is able to fill out the recipient contact information (e.g. mobilenumber) and send the card 160, with an optional introductory message.The contact information for the recipient may also be extracted from theportable computing device 120. The text message may also be sent usingthe native text message options built into the portable computing device120 (e.g. iMessage®).

If user 150 chooses to send the card 160 via Twitter® 1605, user 150 isdirected to a Twitter® page (not shown). If user 150 is not alreadysigned in to the Twitter® service on the portable computing device 120,user 150 is directed to a login screen where user 150 is able to entertheir user credentials (e.g. a username and a password) and login to theTwitter® service. Next, user 150 is able to choose between posting thecard 160 on their own wall or on a friend's wall. If user 150 chooses topost the card 160 on their own wall, user 150 is directed to theirTwitter® wall page, where user 150 is able to post the card 160 alongwith a personalized message. If user 150 chooses to post the card 160 ona friend's wall, user 150 is directed to a friend selector page onTwitter®, where user 150 is able to choose from one or more friends byeither selecting them from the Twitter® friend list or by searching forthem within the Twitter® interface. Once user 150 chooses a friend onwhose wall to post the card 160, user 150 is directed to the selectedfriend's Twitter® wall page, where user 150 is able to post the card 160along with a personalized message.

If user 150 chooses to send the card 160 via any of the four sendoptions 1602, 1603, 1604 or 1605, a transcoding process is initiated asshown in FIG. 27. At 2701, the user's audio recording (e.g. personalizedmessage), if any, is uploaded to network 110. At 110, the audiorecording is processed via an application programming interface 2702 andsaved on a server 2703. Server 2703 may be a web or a network serverthat is in communication with network 110. Exemplary web or networkservers are Amazon S3 servers provided by Amazon®. Contemporaneous tothe user's audio recording being uploaded to network 110, the remainingportions of the card 160, e.g. signature, are uploaded to the network110 through a second application programming interface 2704. In thenetwork 110, a request to transcode the card 160 along with anotification url is sent to a processor 2705, which transcodes the audioportions of the card 160. Another server 2706 stores the transcodedaudio and saves it on the network 110. The transcoding process mayutilize transcoding technology such as Zencoder® provided byBrightcove®. Server 2706 may be a web or a network server that is incommunication with network 110. Exemplary web or network servers areAmazon S3 servers provided by Amazon®. In one embodiment, a cloud server2707 saves the transcoded audio on the network 110. Processor 2705processes the transcoded audio files and notifies the applicationprogramming interface 2704 of one or more transcoded url links for thetranscoded audio files. At 2708, the card 160 is sent to the recipientchosen by user 150. When the recipient picks up or chooses to play thecard at 2709, the previously stored transcoded audio is rendered vianetwork 110 and/or cloud server 2707 onto the card 160. Prior toplayback on the card 160, the transcoded audio is de-coded to fit thespecific computing environment of the recipient. For example, thedecoded audio file rendered to the recipient will be different in adesktop platform as compared with a mobile platform. Transcoding anddecoding of messages allows the ecard 160, and specifically the audiorecordings, to be played across a wide variety of mobile platforms suchas iOS® and Android®.

In an embodiment, if signed in to the system 100 via ecard app 130, user150 is presented with a reminder screen 1701 as shown in FIG. 17.Reminder screen 1701 may serve as a reminder hub for user 150, whereuser 150 is able to review a list of events 1702. The list of events1702 may be events that have previously been entered by the user 150, orevents that were imported from user's device 120, or events that wereimported into the app 130 by way of the user 150 connecting anddownloading a list of events stored on the user's social networkingaccount(s) (e.g. Facebook®, Twitter®). User 150 may select an event1702, to prepare and send an ecard 160 to the selected contactassociated with the event 1702.

FIG. 18 shows an exemplary options screen 1801 that presents user 150with a list of available options in the ecard app 130.

FIGS. 19-23 show an exemplary embodiment of the pickup experience ofecard 160 as viewed by the recipient of ecard 160. For the purposes ofthis description, it is assumed that the recipient also has the ecardapp 130 installed on their device, and chooses to pick up the ecard 160using the app 130. Screen 1901 of FIG. 19 shows the recipient receivingthe ecard 160 on a device 1902. Device 1902 may be a device that housesthe ecard app 130 (similar to device 120), or may be a standalonedevice.

As shown in FIG. 20, Ecard 160 is a hamburger head that moves up anddown, wiggles, animates, talks, and sings. Any of the parts thatcomprise the hamburger, such as the vegetables and cheese, may move aswell. The animation may be a partial or full animation, with a partialanimation configured to show the animation along with other customizablecomponents of the ecard 160, whereas a full animation is implemented toshow the animation by itself without any other component interactions.Ecard 160 may be rendered as described in the '045 applicationreferenced earlier. Further, the animations of the ecard 160 may bedesigned to imitate the mechanical movements of the mobile objects andmoveable objects described in U.S. Pat. No. 8,695,242, entitled “MOTIONGREETING CARDS,” which is hereby incorporated by reference in full.

When the recipient opens an exemplary rendering of a digital outerenvelope, ecard 160 is shown, as can be seen on screen 2001. Anexemplary view of a fully loaded ecard 160 is shown in screen 2101 ofFIG. 21. The recipient may choose to open the ecard 160 to find thecustomized message and signature as shown in screen 2201 of FIG. 22, andthe personalized photo as shown in screen 2301 of FIG. 23. Thepersonalized recorded message as shown with reference to FIG. 15 may beplayed in the background when the recipient opens the ecard 160, and maycontinue to play during the entire card viewing experience. Alternately,the recipient may be presented with a message player (not shown),selecting which plays the personalized recorded message back to therecipient.

The recipient interactions in receiving and viewing the card 160 throughthe ecard app 130 may also be replicated on a web browser, especially insituations where the recipient is unable or unwilling to download theecard app 130. If the ecard 160 is being picked up on a web browser, theweb browser may be optimized to render the content and graphics of thecard 160. As an example, the web browser may be optimized using HTML,JavaScript, and GreenSock (an animation library for website pickup,including using HTML5) in order to properly render the content andgraphics of the card 160. Utilizing HTML or HTML 5 in conjunction withJavaScript and GreenSock, ecard 160 is rendered to the user 150 as a3-dimensional card. The web page that renders the ecard 160 may also beconfigured to check for the technical specifications of the web browserin which the card 160 is being rendered. If the web browser being usedto render card 160 does not contain the technical features (e.g. acertain pre-determined version of the browser, JavaScript etc) requiredfor a full rendering of card 160, the web page may present the user 150with a “pared-down” version of card 160 without some features, such asthe 3-dimensional rendering.

Ecard 160 may also be picked up using a mobile optimized browserbuilder. Exemplary operations and flow of receiving and viewing anexemplary ecard via a mobile optimized web browser are fully describedin International Patent Application No. PCT/US14/24074, entitled“VIRTUAL SHOP FOR ELECTRONIC GREETING CARDS” (“the '074 application”)which is incorporated herein by reference in full.

As described in further detail in the '074 application, the mobileoptimized browser builder is rendered to user 150 on the portablecomputing device 120 via JavaScript, an interpreted computer programminglanguage. The mobile optimized browser builder is essentially a singleweb page JavaScript application. All of the page interactions happenthrough JavaScript, in addition to Cascading Style Sheets and Canvastechnology. The rendering of the card happens through Scalable VectorGraphics (SVG) and Extended Markup Language via Application ProgramInterfaces. Further, advanced image processing and rendering on the card160 are accomplished using JavaScript and Canvas technologies.

One method of rendering an animation in an ecard that has been picked upby a recipient of the ecard builds on the description of using SVG filesprovided in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/460,045, which has beenincorporated herein by reference in full, particularly at Paragraphs 51through 61. For example, to create animation effects on page 1 of anecard that is a hamburger shown in FIG. 21 for example, information isadded to the SVG XML library file by the creator of the ecard. Thisinformation is as follows:

-   -   1. The names of the image assets to be animated on page 1 in        coordination with decoded music in the audio file. Examples of        assets to be animated in this example would include the “whites”        of the hamburgers eyes, the pupils of the hamburgers eyes and        any other portion of the hamburger to be animated or moving in        coordination with the audio file.    -   2. The X, Y and Z coordinates of each animation effect        identified in 1. The X and Y coordinates are horizontal and        vertical coordinates respectively. The Z coordinate is the order        of objects as they appear looking into the ecard. Z-order is an        ordering of overlapping two-dimensional objects in a 3D        application. One of the features of a typical Graphical User        Interface such as a computer monitor or portable computing        device is that windows may overlap, so that one window hides        part or all of another. When two windows depicting objects        overlap, their Z-order determines which one appears on top of        the other. The coordinates must be specified for the initial        start or origin of each animation effect as well as the        coordinates of the placement of the animation throughout the        activation of the animation effect.    -   3. The duration of the time for each animated asset to be        animated that is described in 1.    -   4. Setting the start and stop times for animation to begin and        end. This is called, setting key frame times. Setting key frame        times is done to coordinate certain animations to coincide with        certain sound effects or beats in songs contained in the audio        file.    -   5. The type of animation movement for each animation effects        such as straight line, repetitive or circular movement.

These parameters are defined or programmed in each SVG file for eachecard. This information is parsed from the SVG file into JSON formatthat is then used by the JavaScript of the page. JSON or JavaScriptObject Notation, is an open standard format that uses human-readabletext to transmit data objects consisting of attribute-value pairs. It isused primarily to transmit data between a server and web application, asan alternative to XML. The animated assets within the card aretranscoded into JavaScript and used by the animation library (GreenSock)to coordinate the visual effects with the audio file when the card ispicked up by the recipient in 2709 on FIG. 27, so that the animationappears synced or coordinated with sound effects or music in the card.The recipient then views or experiences the synced audio and visualeffects of the animation. The animation effects can be placed on anypage of the ecard and can be any type of visual effect or animation. Thehamburger is just one example.

The above description of specific embodiments has been given by way ofexample. From the disclosure given, those skilled in the art will notonly understand the general inventive concepts and attendant advantages,but will also find apparent various changes and modifications to thestructures and methods disclosed. For example, although the embodimentsdisclosed herein have been primarily directed to a portable computingdevice, the general inventive concepts could be readily extended to anon-portable computer (PC) or other relatively fixed console computers,and may be pursued with reference to a website and/or other online oroffline mechanisms. Further, other social networking sites other thanthose specifically described herein may be used as delivery media forelectronic greeting cards. As another example, the general inventiveconcepts are not typically limited to any particular interface between auser and the user's mobile computing device. Thus, for example, use ofalternative user input mechanisms, such as voice commands and keyboardentries, are within the spirit and scope of the general inventiveconcepts. As a further example, the general inventive concepts are nottypically limited to just mobile applications. Other browsingenvironments which permit the rendering and usage of the mobileapplication's features may be employed. For example, social networkingapplications such as Facebook® and Twitter® may be utilized to renderand use the mobile application's pages (e.g. within the Facebook®browser), or mobile optimized web browsers may be used. It is sought,therefore, to cover all such changes and modifications as fall withinthe spirit and scope of the general inventive concepts, as described andclaimed herein, and equivalents thereof.

1. A system for providing an electronic greeting card having audio andother portions, the system comprising: a network having a firstapplication programming interface (“API”), a second API, a processor,and a first server; a second server; a recipient electronic device;wherein the audio portion is transmitted to the first API, the otherportions are transmitted the second API, the audio portion is stored onthe first server, the audio portion is transcoded by the processor, thetranscoded audio portion is stored on the second server, the electronicgreeting card is sent to the recipient electronic device, and, when therecipient device accesses the transmitted electronic greeting card, thetranscoded audio portion is rendered to the recipient electronic deviceand decoded based on the operating environment of the recipient device.2. The system of claim 1, wherein the second server is within thenetwork.
 3. The system of claim 1, wherein the second server is externalto and connected to the network.
 4. The system of claim 1, wherein thesecond server is a cloud server connected to the network.
 5. The systemof claim 1, wherein the electronic greeting card is created by user of amobile application of a mobile device.
 6. The system of claim 5, whereinthe mobile application includes an interface for adding a digitalphotograph to the electronic greeting card.
 7. The system of claim 5,wherein the mobile application includes an interface for adding apersonalized message to the electronic greeting card.
 8. The system ofclaim 5, wherein the mobile application includes an interface for addinga digital signature to the electronic greeting card.
 9. The system ofclaim 5, wherein the mobile application includes an interface for addinga the audio portion to the electronic greeting card.
 10. The system ofclaim 5, wherein the mobile application includes an interface forselecting a transmission medium for transmitting the electronic greetingcard.
 11. The system of claim 10 wherein the transmission medium isselected from the group consisting of an email, a text message and asocial networking site.
 12. A method for providing an electronicgreeting card having audio and other portions, the method comprising:transmitting the audio portion of the electronic greeting card to anetwork through a first application programming interface (“API”) of thenetwork; storing the audio portion on a first server; transmitting theother portions of the electronic greeting card to the network through asecond API of the network; transmitting a request to a processor of thenetwork to transcode the audio portion, wherein the request includesnotification address; transcoding the audio portion; storing thetranscoded audio portion on a second server; notifying the first API ofa location of the stored transcoded audio portion; transmitting theelectronic greeting card to a recipient device based on the notificationaddress; rendering the transcoded audio portion from the second serverand decoding the transcoded audio portion, based on the operatingenvironment of the recipient device, when the recipient device accessesthe transmitted electronic greeting card.
 13. The method of claim 12,further comprising initiating creation of the electronic greeting cardon a mobile application of a mobile device.
 13. The method of claim 13,further comprising adding a digital photograph to the electronicgreeting card.
 14. The method of claim 13, further comprising adding apersonalized message to the electronic greeting card.
 15. The method ofclaim 13, further comprising adding a digital signature to theelectronic greeting card.
 16. The method of claim 13, further comprisingadding the audio portion to the electronic greeting card.
 17. The methodof claim 13, further comprising selecting a transmission medium fortransmitting the electronic greeting card.
 18. A method for rendering ananimation having a plurality of animation effects in an electronicgreeting card, the system comprising: identifying assets to be animatedin coordination with an associated music file; identifyingthree-dimensional coordinates of each animation effect; identifying aduration of time for each animated asset; identifying start and stoptimes for the animation; identifying an animation movement type for eachanimation effect; transcoding each asset to be animated to coordinateeach asset with the associated music file.
 19. The method of claim 18,wherein data representing the identified information is stored in ascalable vector graphics file.
 20. The method of claim 18, wherein datarepresenting the identified information is stored on a server anduploaded to a web application as a set of data objects comprisingattribute-value pairs.